Junior Avengers
by hulkgirl333c
Summary: In the year 2025, our world falls apart and we begin to question everything we thought we knew. The children of the Avengers, people we thought were fictional characters, are forced to step up to the plate as villains begin to resurface. What happens next? Well, you'll just have to read and find out. Rated T to be safe.
1. SHIELD Profiles

Hi everybody, this is my first fanfiction, so any comments or reviews would be extremely helpful. This story is about the Avenger's children and their lives. It takes place in the summer of 2025, when all the superheroes have retired and as far as anybody knows, they're just works of fiction. The first few chapters will be about how the team was formed and will be told in first person. The following chapters will all be in third person.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Avengers or other Marvel characters. However, I do own the Junior Avengers and my other OC's in this story.

**Intro: S.H.I.E.L.D. Profiles (a few weeks into the future)**

**Jet:**  
Name: Stark, Ryan H.  
DOB: 03/27/2009  
Age: 16  
Height: 5'11"  
Weight:156 lbs.  
Hair: Black  
Eyes: Green  
Gender: Male  
Citizenship: United States  
Birthplace: Malibu, CA  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Human  
Markings: Two small, parallel scars on bottom of right foot.  
Family: Anthony Edward Stark, Father; Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Mother; Sarah Maria Stark, Sister  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: NONE  
Abilities: High-level intellect; Skilled in engineering and computer science  
Weapons: Jet Armor (variant of Iron Man armor: See Section 7 for blueprints.)  
Strengths: Increased intelligence allows for better negotiation and reasoning; basic hand-to-hand combat ability; high-tech armor  
Weaknesses: Terrible at strategizing; self-centered and egotistical personality; doesn't think before he acts; vulnerable to injury and illness  
Threat Level: Medium

**Commando Girl:**

Name: Romanova-Rogers, Anastasia  
DOB : 07/30/2009  
Age: 15  
Height: 5'9"  
Weight: 132 lbs.  
Hair: Red  
Eyes: Blue  
Gender: Female  
Citizenship: Russia/ United States  
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Superhuman  
Markings: NONE  
Family: Steve Rogers, Father; Natalia (Natasha) Alianovna Romanova, Mother; Jim Rogers, Half-brother; Sharon Rogers, Stepmother; James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, Stepfather; Imo Barnes, Stepsister (adopted)  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Increased strength and stamina; heightened metabolism  
Abilities: Skilled in hand-to-hand combat  
Weapons: Handgun; shield (previously owned by Captain America)  
Strengths: Advanced combat strategy; great leader; determined; willing to make sacrifices  
Weaknesses: Fears water and cold temperatures; will do anything to protect her team  
Threat Level: Very High

**(No known alter ego)**:  
Name: Jones, Becca  
DOB: 04/25/2011  
Age: 14  
Height: 5'4"  
Weight: 117 lbs.  
Hair: Brown  
Eyes: Brown  
Gender: Female  
Citizenship: Unknown; presumed United States  
Birthplace: Unknown  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Unknown; presumed human  
Markings: None known  
Family: None known  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: None known  
Abilities: Genius-level intellect; advanced knowledge in the field of gamma radiation  
Strengths: None known  
Weaknesses: None known; presumed vulnerability to injury and illness  
Threat Level: Very High

**Blue Jay:**  
Name: Barton, Brett  
DOB: 12/10/2009  
Age: 15  
Height: 5'8"  
Weight: 141 lbs.  
Hair: Blonde  
Eyes: Blue  
Gender: Male  
Citizenship: United States  
Birthplace: Manhattan, NY  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Human  
Markings: NONE  
Family: Clint Barton, Father; Barbara "Bobbi" Barton, Mother; Anna Barton, Sister; Barney Barton, Uncle  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: NONE  
Abilities: Skilled with bow and arrow; trained in hand-to-hand combat  
Weapons: Collapsible bow; assortment of arrows (regular and specialized)  
Strengths: Ambidextrous fighter; perfect aim; persistent  
Weaknesses: Puts too much faith in others; prone to distraction; naive; vulnerable to injury and illness  
Threat Level: Medium

**Thunderstrike:**  
Name: Thorson, Roan  
DOB: 01/20/ 2009  
Age: 16  
Height: 6'10"  
Weight: 323 lbs.  
Hair: Blonde  
Eyes: Blue  
Gender: Male  
Citizenship: Asgard/ United States  
Birthplace: Asgard  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Demigod  
Markings: NONE  
Family: Thor Odinson, Father; Jane Foster, Mother; Terra Foster, Sister; Loki Laufeyson, Uncle (adopted)  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Increased strength and durability; elemental control over lightning; ability to fly  
Abilities: Skilled swordsman  
Weapons: Sword made from unknown metal  
Strengths: High indurance; unstoppable in combat; not easily fatigued; invulnerable to illness and minor injury  
Weaknesses: Too stubborn; lets his emotions blind him; vulnerable to severe injury  
Threat Level: Very High

**Black Pantheress**:  
Name: Munroe, Skylar  
DOB: 10/24/2009  
Age: 15  
Height: 5'6"  
Weight: 125 lbs.  
Hair: Brown  
Eyes: Brown  
Gender: Female  
Citizenship: Wakanda/ United States  
Birthplace: Wakanda  
Race: African  
Species: Superhuman  
Markings: Three claw marks on left shoulder  
Family: T'Challa, Father; Ororo Munroe, Mother; Charles Munroe, Brother; T'Chaka Munroe, Brother; Logan Munroe, Brother; Hank Munroe, Brother; Jaryn Monroe, Brother  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Increased strength and agility; Heightened senses  
Abilities: Genius-level intellect; advanced knowledge in the field of technology and computer science  
Weapons: Vibranium claws, bow and arrows, spear, and dagger  
Strengths: Able to easily gain intelligence on the enemy; fast reflexes; good judgment of character; strong hand-to-hand combat; able to break into most secure locations  
Weaknesses: Sometimes unwilling to make compromises; cares too much about what others think of her; doesn't like to take help, orders, or advice; tries to tackle large problems on her own  
Threat Level: Very High

**Pixie**:  
Name: Pym, Sophia R.  
DOB: 09/03/2009  
Age: 15  
Height: 5'3"  
Weight: 113 lbs.  
Hair: Blonde  
Eyes: Blue  
Gender: Female  
Citizenship: United States  
Birthplace: Beverly Hills, CA  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Superhuman  
Markings: Pink swirl designs around eyes (in shrunken form)  
Family: Henry "Hank" Pym, Father; Janet Pym, Mother; Louis Stephan Pym, Brother  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Ability to shrink herself at will; can create blasts of bioelectric energy from her hands; grows wings that allow her to fly (in shrunken form)  
Abilities: Genius-level intellect; advanced knowledge in the field of science  
Weapons: NONE  
Strengths: Keen eyesight; potential to be a great fighter; willing to test her limits  
Weaknesses: Small size increases vulnerability to attacks; sometimes refuses to fight; fears unacceptance; emotions are easily manipulated; vulnerable to injury and illness  
Threat Level: Low

**Sting:**  
Name: Pym, Louis S.  
DOB: 09/03/2009  
Age: 15  
Height: 5'5"  
Weight: 130 lbs.  
Hair: Auburn  
Eyes: Blue  
Gender: Male  
Citizenship: United States  
Birthplace: Beverly Hills, CA  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Superhuman  
Markings: NONE  
Family: Henry "Hank" Pym, Father; Janet Pym, Mother; Sophia Rachael Pym, Sister  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Ability to shrink and grow at will; can talk to insects  
Abilities: High-level intellect; advanced knowledge in the field of technology  
Weapons: Ray gun (capable of shrinking and stunning enemies)  
Strengths: Spirited fighter; carries out attacks with extreme accuracy; knows when to fall back  
Weaknesses: High risk for mental illness; unstable emotions; vulnerable to injury and illness  
Threat Level: High

**(No known alter ego):**  
Name: Walters, Kevin  
DOB: 05/29/2009  
Age:16  
Height: 7'1"  
Weight: 370 lbs.  
Hair: Black  
Eyes: Gray  
Gender: Male  
Citizenship: United States  
Birthplace: Santa Fe, NM  
Race: Caucasian  
Species: Superhuman  
Markings: NONE  
Family: Jennifer Walters, Mother  
Education: Grammar School  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Increased strength and metabolism; ability to absorb radiation; can jump considerable lengths  
Abilities: High-level intellect; skilled in hand-to-hand combat  
Weapons: NONE  
Strengths: Focused in battle; able to absorb extreme amounts of radiation and put it to use; appears to have no limits (he might be as strong as the Hulk was, or stronger)  
Weaknesses: Lets his anger get the best of him; when extremely focused, his attacks can become mindless; underestimates himself; afraid to test his limits  
Threat Level: Very High

**Hulk Girl**:  
Name: Unknown  
DOB: Unknown  
Age: Unknown  
Height: Unknown; presumed 9'  
Weight: Unknown; presumed 975 lbs.  
Hair: Green  
Eyes: Green  
Gender: Female  
Citizenship: Unknown  
Birthplace: Unknown  
Race: Unknown  
Species: Unknown; presumed Superhuman  
Markings: Small, vertical scar on left leg; scar on right elbow; diagonal scar on lower back  
Family: None known; occasionally resides with Becca Jones  
Education: NONE  
Criminal: NONE  
Powers: Increased strength and metabolism; can jump extreme lengths; presumed ability to shift forms between herself and her alter ego  
Abilities: Skilled in hand-to-hand combat  
Weapons: NONE  
Strengths: Unstoppable; doesn't fear having to keep her identity secret; invulnerable to all forms of illness and injury  
Weaknesses: None known  
Threat Level: Extremely High

Thanks for reading my fanfiction. The first chapter will be about Jet. After that, the other characters will slowly be introduced in their own point of view. If it starts out rough, I'm really sorry. I've had this planned out in my head for years, but it's still hard to put it into words, especially during the first person chapters in a guy's point of view. Also, I'm pretty busy with homework this year, so I might be a little slow in publishing the chapters. I would like to thank my friend for helping to bring my characters to life in the cover they drew and my beta reader for taking the time to help me improve my writing. I would also like to thank anybody who actually writes a comment about my fanfiction, whether it be a good review, a bad review, or an idea.

Sincerely,

hulkgirl333c


	2. Jet's Story

**Chapter 1: Jet's Story**

Hey, I'm Jet. You may know me as the son of Iron Man, Ryan Stark, the leader of the Junior Avengers, or the most handsome guy in the world.

(Oh please. First of all, nobody knows you. Second, you're not even qualified to be a leader, and lastly, who told you that you were handsome?)

Shut up Commando Girl! I'll have you know that every girl in school is dying to go out with me. You know, why don't I just tell everybody how this team started? Then they can decide who the real leader of this team is. Hint, hint, it's me.

(Wow, really?)

Whatever.

So anyways, a few weeks ago, my parents left on an important business trip. I was left alone at our mansion in California.

Well my sister was there too, but she's younger than me and between her incredibly long conversations on her cell phone and her trips to the mall, it was almost like she wasn't there either.

I was just spending the summer playing with my holographic gaming system like any other guy my age when it just broke down. You can probably imagine how upset I was. I had just finished level 87!

(Get to the point already!)

Fine then!

Luckily, I knew how to fix my gaming system. My dad taught me engineering when I turned sixteen. All I needed were a few tools from the basement.

The same basement I was never allowed to be in without parental supervision, but who cares about the details.

When I got downstairs, I really got to see my dad's lab for the first time. Usually, he just tells me to wait at the door while he gets any equipment he needs, but I was curious and I didn't exactly know where the tools were, so I kept on walking until I reached a safe with a 4-digit security code.

_0725_

My dad really needs to stop setting his birthday as his security codes. I was pretty surprised when I opened the safe and saw a room instead of tools. I walked through the safe door and my first thought was, _My dad is a geek._

The walls were filled with tons of replica Iron Man armors. I knew my dad read a comic book every once a while, but I never knew he was such a fan. However, I did have to admire the talent it took to make these suits.

I'm sorry, I just had to try one on.

"Hmm, I wonder what this button does."

Next thing I knew, I had crashed into a wall entirely decorated with Iron Man memorabilia.

Luckily, it was all holographic, so I hadn't damaged anything.

Among all the comic books and newspapers, there was a video feed. A news reporter was covering a fight between the Avengers and a super villain wearing some sort of golden horn helmet.

"And with a final repulsor blast, Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man finishes the fight."

"Funny, my dad has the same name… and the same face! Oh my gosh, my dad is Iron Man!"

I started thinking to myself,_ MY dad, the genius billionaire scientist in charge of Stark Industries, is actually Iron Man?_ I started pacing the floor as I took everything in.

"How could this be happening? There's no way my dad could possibly be Iron Man. I mean, he's cool and all, but not that cool. I have to be dreaming. That's the only possible explanation. I'll just pinch myself and this will all be over."

I gave myself a quick pinch, but I was still wearing the suit, so it didn't really do me any good. I slapped myself on the head a couple of times after realizing that I was still in the suit.

"Repulsors activated."

"Wait, what?"

I fell backwards as a blast of blue light hit my chest.

"Ow! Wait a minute, these things actually work?"

I would have totally tested out the repulsors some more, but just then, I heard a loud noise upstairs followed by a scream.

"Sarah!"

No Answer.

I called again… still no answer.

I would've called her on her cell, but I didn't see how I was going to reach my pocket with the suit on.

I ran upstairs which was surprisingly easy, considering how heavy the suit must be.

By the time I had reached my sister's bedroom, it was too late. Her cell phone was lying on her bed. Something was definitely wrong. I heard an engine blast outside. A large aircraft with some sort of octopus logo was soaring off into the sky. I didn't know what to do. Then I remembered that I was in the armor. I seem to forget that a lot.

"Okay, Iron Man's suits can fly. I just need to figure out how. Umm…"

I backed up a few steps and took off running. At the last second, I jumped. Nothing was going to keep me away from my sister. Nothing, that is, except for the cliff that I was falling down. I automatically started freaking out.

"Ahhhhhh! How does thing work? Abracadabra! Hocus Pocus! Fly! Uhh… uhh… Autopilot on!"

What kind of person doesn't install an autopilot in a flying suit? I thrust my arms out, attempting to break my fall. I braced myself for impact, but I never hit the ground. I looked down and saw a steady stream of light coming from my hands and feet keeping me hovering in midair. I could fly! I pushed myself up. It was kinda like swimming.

The aircraft was getting away. I flew after it and saw my sister gagged and bound to a chair inside of it. She seemed to be unconscious, but I couldn't tell with all the creepy goons around her. One of them looked my way.

Too late, I flew out of sight. All of a sudden, I found myself dodging hundreds of missiles until one of them almost hit me. I put my hand out in front of me and managed to blast one of the missiles. Sometimes I forget how incredibly awesome I am. I flew up to the window, shooting any missiles that got too close. I managed to crash through the window, landing right in the middle of a group of goons. They started pointing at me and speaking in some kind of foreign language.

One of them tried to grab me, but I got up and pointed my hand at him. For a moment, he looked afraid of me. That didn't last long though. Soon, all of the goons started shooting at me. I couldn't feel anything through the suit, although it was hard to focus with all the gunshots ringing out. A couple of goons caught me off guard and threw me back out of the window.

I started to fall, but I quickly recovered and flew in front of the aircraft, to no avail. Instead of stopping or going around me, they just started firing more missiles. These ones were bigger and much to my dismay, repulsor-resistant. I was dodging them left and right.

Somehow, I managed to evade most of them, but the heat-seekers were still hot on my trail. Ha! Heat-seekers… hot… get it? Uhh, so anyways, I started flying towards the ocean in an attempt to hide my heat signature. I would have led the missiles towards the aircraft, but my sister was in there, and I didn't want her getting hurt.

The ocean was still pretty far away and the missiles were getting closer and closer by the second. I managed to fly a few more feet before one of them finally hit me. It didn't hurt, but it managed to throw me off balance, allowing a couple more missiles to hit my hands and feet.

All of a sudden, I started to fall. I tried propelling myself upwards, but my repulsors had stopped working. It was time for Plan B, scream my head off and hope that I survive. Luckily, I managed to crash-land into some trees not too far away from my house. I looked up and saw that the aircraft had gotten away. Sarah was gone and there was nothing I could do to save her. I had failed.

"Sir, there is an unknown person approaching the mansion. Security systems are offline. Would you like me to turn them on?

"What the… Who are you? Why can't I see you?"

"I am JARVIS, a program in the Iron Man armor. Who, may I ask, are you?"

"Ryan Stark, Tony Stark's son."

"Tony Stark does not have a son."

"What?! I think you need to update your facts mister Germis, or whatever your name is."

"JARVIS. It's an acronym. Just A Really Very Intelligent System."

"Wow, that's a… uhh… really very intelligent name all right."

I still can't believe my dad came up with a name like that. I mean, seriously. A really very intelligent system… and what's up with the old butler voice?

"Your birth records indicate that what you are saying is true. I see ego and sarcasm are genetic, as is forgetfulness. The unknown person has entered the mansion and is heading towards the lab, which you have not locked."

After hearing that, I rushed to the house and ran downstairs. Not surprisingly, the unknown person had already entered the lab and was standing in the armory. He wasn't one of the goons, or at least he wasn't wearing the same stupid outfit as they were.

He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and black jeans. The hood of the sweatshirt was covering his face in shadow, so I couldn't tell who he was. I looked at him again and saw that he had a gun hanging from his belt. That left me with only one option. Attack now, ask questions later.

I charged towards the man and attempted to punch him, but he simply stepped out of the way. I tried to punch him a few more times, but each time, he either blocked me or dodged me. Then he started to fight back. He back-flipped over me and gave a sharp kick to my lower back.

Just my luck! First my sister gets kidnapped, and now I'm fighting an armed ninja. I tried to fight back, but I was already weak from my fall earlier. He continued to fight me until he saw that I no longer had the strength to fight back. He took a step back and looked me over, as if he was waiting for me to start fighting again.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked as I started to get back on my feet.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question."

His voice was surprisingly high and soft.

"I asked you first."

"Are you really that childish? I was kinda hoping the information on your S.H.I.E.L.D. profile wasn't true."

"My what? You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. Just tell me who you are and take off your hood. It would be nice to see who I'm talking to."

Much to my surprise, he actually did what I said. He took off his hood, revealing that he was actually a she.

"Anastasia Romanova, not pleased to meet you."

"Then why'd you break into my house."

"Sorry Mr. Stark, I was looking for someone else."

"Mr. Stark? That's a first. My dad's name is Mr. Stark. You can call me Ryan."

"Wait, you already know? This is great! Now I won't have to deal with trying to explain anything to you or you thinking that I'm crazy."

Oh, I definitely thought she was crazy, alright.

"Hold on a sec. I just met you. I have no idea what's going on here, but my sister just got kidnapped by these goons with an octopus logo…" I started to say.

"Hydra."

"Hi who? My name's Ryan. I thought we were done with introductions."

"No, Hydra. They're the ones that kidnapped your sister."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? You can take me to them."

"Not yet. I'll need to train you."

"For what?"

"You've obviously never fought a super villain before."

"Wait those guys were super villains? Like, real super villains?"

"Yes, and if you want to survive your encounter with them, you need to be trained, or at least have a good team backing you up. You obviously don't belong to a team yet, so training seems to be your only option."

She looked almost sad when she was talking about having a team, but I still didn't trust her. After all, she was a stranger.

"I don't need help from a girl. Give me one good reason I should even trust you."

Next thing I knew, she had me pinned against the wall.

Man, was she strong.

You know, for a girl.

"Besides the fact that you have to trust me because I'm way stronger than you, even with your suit on? Well, you could always choose to trust me for the same reason I'm choosing to trust you. As much as I hate to admit it, we're the same, you and me. Eleven years ago, I found out something about my parents that changed my life forever. Look…"

She started taking off her sweatshirt and pants, which kinda freaked me out. Whoever she was, I'd say she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic… not that I was complaining or anything.

"Uhh, you know, that's not really necessary. I think I trust you now. You don't need to…"

Then I saw that she was wearing something underneath. I couldn't make it out, but it looked like some sort of spangly outfit.

"You are Ryan Stark, son of Iron Man and Pepper Potts. I am Anastasia Romanova, daughter of Black Widow and Captain America."


	3. A Blast from the Past

p style="margin-bottom: .14in;"Hi again,/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in;"Sorry for the long wait. I've just been super busy lately. I'll try my best to update the story every couple of weeks. I'm also happy to announce that I have three co-writers to help me out from now on, one of whom is the friend that drew the cover for this story. I've already started on chapter three, so it should be up soon. Enjoy!/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in;"hulkgirl333c/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in;"span style="font-size: 14pt;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Chapter 2: A Blast from the Past/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Wow, Ryan! You're worse than I thought. Holographic gaming system? Thinking I was a guy? How can you be so dense?/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"(Hey, I'm not the only guy who has a holographic gaming system, Commando Girl. Also, how was I supposed to know you were a girl? You were wearing baggy clothes and your face was covered!)/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Oh, I'm sorry. I almost forgot you were a rich, spoiled brat! You're not the only guy who has a gaming system like that. All the other billionaires' kids have them too! And admit it, the only reason you thought I was a guy was because I was stronger than you!/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"(What? That's ridiculous! I would never…)/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"You know what? I don't care. What's done is done, so let's just continue telling the story./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"(Okay then, let's see where I left off.)/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Oh, no. I think you misunderstand me. I'm telling this part./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"(But…)/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"No buts. This is my story, and I'm telling it./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"(Alright.)/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Thank you. Now let's see… Oh, right! I was telling you who I was./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"You are Ryan Stark, son of Iron Man and Pepper Potts. I am Anastasia Romanova, daughter of Black Widow and Captain America."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan looked at me like I was crazy. I had spent years trying to find the children of the other Avengers. Finally, I had managed to find one. Now I just had to find a way to make him trust me./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I know it's a lot to take in, but I'm here for you. I can train you and help you save your sister. You just need to trust me. Can you do that? Can you trust me?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"He looked up at me and slowly nodded./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Over the next few days I trained Ryan in hand to hand combat. He was terrible at first, but after about a week, he got the hang of it. During his free time, he made repairs to his suit. He was still a pain in the butt, though. Every time I pushed him a little farther, he complained. I had to constantly explain to him that if he couldn't be pushed to his limits, he wasn't going to be able to save his sister. Trust me, I know./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Anyways, I had Ryan doing some routine exercises, when I got a message on my phone from a contact that I hadn't talked to in a while,/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" The Scientist./spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" I had asked them for help earlier and was anxious to see their response./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I found the snake. It was trying to take a swim. Do you want it for our friend?/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"You can't imagine how happy I was to get that message. At the same time, it did bring back some pretty sad memories. I started texting back immediately./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Thank you for finding it, but it's not for our friend. A soldier was looking for it. Can I schedule a vacation for later?/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yes, of course. Will the soldier be staying with you? If so, shall I book a separate room?/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yes, the soldier will be staying with me and will require a separate room./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Okay, do you need anything else?/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"No, that's all. Thank you./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"No problem./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Before I go on, I should probably explain what that was all about. I've never really trusted technology, so I made up a code for me to communicate with my friends. All texts with the code had to be written in full sentences without any abbreviations. That was how we told it apart from other texts. Then, we used coded language that was simple enough for us to get, but confusing to anybody who didn't know the code./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"During our conversation, /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"the snake/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" meant Hydra's location, /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"swim/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" either meant the island base or the underwater base, /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"trying/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" confirmed that it was the island base, and /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"our friend/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" was someone who I hadn't seen in a while and might never see again./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"It's a long story, but I'll tell you later./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"When I was explaining my situation, /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"soldier/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" meant one of the Avengers' children, /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;"can I schedule a room/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" meant I was asking my contact if I could stay at their house, and basically, they wanted to know if Ryan would be staying with me and what gender he was. Afterwards, I explained that he was a guy and that he would be staying with me, or at least, I hoped he would./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Now that you know that, let's continue with the story./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I closed my phone and looked over at Ryan. His combat skills had improved tremendously since I started training him. I truly believed that if he had to go toe to toe with Hydra's forces, he might actually win./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"He was ready./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Hey, Ryan."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yeah?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I found her. She's in Hydra's island base, off of the West Coast."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Wait. Are you sure I've trained enough? What if I'm not ready?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Trust me, you're about as ready as you'll ever be."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Why are we still standing here then? Come on, let's go!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I don't know how we're going to get there. I can ask my friend to get us a boat."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Don't worry, I've got something way better than a boat. Follow me."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan led me into an elevator, which arrived on the top floor surprisingly fast. Once the doors opened, I was amazed. Standing in front of me was a huge private jet. Ryan took me inside and pressed a couple of buttons. I looked out of the window and saw that a built-in launch pad was taking us outside of the building./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Whoa," I said looking out at the sky./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Pretty awesome, huh?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I managed a weak nod before Ryan flew the jet off of the launch pad and into the air. It was my first time in an aircraft, and I had to say, it was pretty cool. It might've been even better if I could've stopped wondering about whether or not Ryan had a license./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"After a few minutes of flying, I started to remember the first time I was inside a Hydra base. I'll have to give you a little background information, but here goes nothing./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I was twelve years old. My sister and I had just run away from "home", if you can call it that. Believe it or not, the great Captain America isn't so great as a father. At least not to a daughter he never knew he had. Little Jimmy, on the other hand, was a precious angel who could do no wrong. And Imo didn't have any blood relation to him, or me for that matter, so she wasn't given the cold shoulder as much as I was. I couldn't take it anymore, and I didn't know how much longer Mama would be needed at work, so I decided to run away. I asked Imo to stay where she'd be safe, but she begged me to let her come along, and I always had trouble saying no to her./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"After a while, we decided to go through some of the things we took from Steve's house. We had been in a hurry to leave, so we just grabbed whatever we could carry. Among the items, we found a computer. It was logged into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database and there were pictures of a bunch of kids on the screen. We discovered that these were the other children of the Avengers. Imo wanted to find all of them. It was just a childish game, and it would take her mind off of running away, so I agreed. I had no idea what dangers we would face./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"We made codenames for ourselves, The Commander and The Soldier. Together, we were The Runaways. Of course, all of our adventures were one big game of pretend, but we did find one of the kids. They were upset to find that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about them, so we suggested that they change their identity. It turned out they had friends who were able to do just that. I gave them the codename, The Scientist, and they told me that they could help me out with an issue I was having. I told Imo that we were recruiting The Scientist into The Runaways. The Scientist later informed us that that name was already taken. Imo suggested Junior Avengers instead./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"The next day, we looked for a base of operations. I found an old mattress warehouse and decided it was perfect. It was hidden and gave us something to sleep on. Imo told me she didn't like it there. She told me she heard voices under the floor. I didn't listen./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"That night, I woke up to the sound of my sister screaming. Two men dressed in strange uniforms came out of a trapdoor and started shooting at us. I grabbed the shield I had stolen from home, and we all hid behind it./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Finally, I decided that I was tired of hiding. I used some of the defensive maneuvers Mama taught me and managed to take out the two men. Of course, being the stupid little kid that I was back then, I decided to find out what was under the trapdoor. Imo and The Scientist followed me./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I found myself in some sort of facility. There was a laboratory filled with terrifying experiments and a room with a giant screen. I realized that these people were building weapons. The images on the screen were places they were going to attack. The first one was a high-security prison in New York. I had to do something, so I asked The Scientist to fashion a makeshift bomb./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Once they were finished, I snuck into the room with the big screen and attached the bomb to a control panel. Then, I tried to sneak back out, but was confronted by ten of the uniformed men. The three of us fought them for a while, but time was running out. We started running towards the trapdoor./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"When we were back in the warehouse, I went to close the trapdoor. That's when I realized Imo wasn't with us. I heard her screaming my name down below and looked down to see her being dragged off by some of the men we were fighting. Then, a cloud of fire filled the room and the blast knocked me off my feet. The trapdoor closed, and when I opened it, there were no bodies to be seen./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"From that day on, I spent my life trying to find out what happened to my sister and trying to find the other Avengers' children in her honor. I can still hear her screaming, "Ana! Ana!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ana. Ana."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Huh?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"We're here. Were you asleep?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I saw Ryan standing above me. The jet had stopped moving, and I looked outside to see that we had made it to Hydra's island base./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"No. I was just… lost in thought."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Okay, whatever you say, Ana."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Don't call me that! You are to address me as Anastasia or Commando Girl, never Ana."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I could tell that Ryan was taken aback by my outburst of anger, so I took a deep breath and said, "Sorry. I'm just a little on edge. I don't exactly have the best track record with these guys."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Oh, okay then."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"We stepped outside and walked towards the large, metal building. We came across a set of doors, but there were no handles or keypads to open them. I crouched down and started rapping on some of the rocks with my fist./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"What are you doing?" Ryan whispered./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I turned to face him and accidentally bumped into him instead./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Owww," he whined, rubbing his forehead./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I'm trying to find a way to open these doors," I responded. "And how did that hurt you? You're wearing a helmet."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"So? I'll have you know…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"As I continued to knock on the rocks, a hollow sound came from one of them. "Found it!" I exclaimed, lifting up the rock to reveal a rectangular green button on the floor. I carefully placed my foot over it and stepped down./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"The doors slid open, giving way to a long, steel corridor. I entered first and Ryan followed closely behind. We followed the path of the corridor, checking any rooms that we passed by. I was about to make a comment on how empty this place was, when we came across a room guarded by sixteen Hydra soldiers./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Get back…" I started to say, but Ryan had already approached the soldiers./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Where's my sister?" Ryan shouted. The soldiers started to attack him and he shot beams of light out of his hands, knocking a few of them down./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"So much for the element of surprise,/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt;" I thought as I rolled my eyes and joined in the fight. I swung out my shield, taking out a small group of soldiers. Ryan continued to blast the rest of them until only six were left./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"They started shooting at us. I raised my shield to block the bullets, but one of them grazed my shoulder anyways. I charged at one of them and knocked them out with my shield. I took out two more with a series of punches. Then, I looked over to see how Ryan was doing./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"One of the remaining soldiers was sprawled across the floor, but the two others were kneeling on the ground, holding down Ryan's limbs. Seeing that he couldn't shoot them, I snuck up behind them and grabbed both of them by the shoulder. I then proceeded to press down my thumb on a pressure point Mama had taught me about, and watched as both of them slumped to the floor. Ryan kicked them off of his legs and got up./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I could've taken them out," he said defensively./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"A simple 'thank you' would suffice," I responded, picking up one of the soldiers by the wrist and dragging him towards the room. I placed his hand on a scanner on the wall. The scanner gave off a green light and the door to the room opened. Inside, a young girl with strawberry blonde hair was blindfolded and tied to a chair. I was guessing this was Ryan's sister./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Who's there?" she called out. "If you hurt me, my daddy will sue. He's super rich, so he can get the best lawyers. Hello? Do you hear…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I clasped my hand over her mouth and she let out a muffled scream. "Listen, I'm going to take off your blindfold and untie you. Just stay quiet, okay?" She nodded./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"When I finished untying the last knot, she jumped up from the chair, kicked me, and started to run out of the room. Ryan grabbed her and picked her up before she could get to the door. She began to squirm and kick him, screaming, "Let me go! Let me go! My daddy's gonna hear about this!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Sarah! Stop that, it's me!" Ryan responded./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Sarah shouted, continuing to kick him. Then, the faceplate in Ryan's helmet lifted and she froze. "R-Ryan?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yeah, it's me."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I left the two of them alone and scanned over the room. Everything we had been through seemed a little too easy./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I saw a security camera in one corner of the room and threw my shield at it, slicing off the lens. I thought it was strange that the camera hadn't been pointed at the chair where Sarah was sitting, but at a computer on the other side of the room./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I walked over to the computer and ran my finger over the screen, causing it to light up. On the screen was a file on my sister. She was alive! I began to read the file and heard a soft ticking noise. I looked behind the computer and saw a bomb attached to the back of it. "Guys, this place is going to blow! Get out, now!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan and his sister ran out of the room. I led them out of the corridor, but I noticed Ryan wasn't with us. That idiot was going to get himself killed someday, but that day wouldn't be today as long as I could help it. There was still about a minute before the bomb went off, so I told Sarah to stay outside while I went back for Ryan./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I found him standing next to the computer and yelled, "What do you think you're doing?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I'm trying to diffuse this bomb," he said quickly. "You should get out of here, just in case it does blow up."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"What about you?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I'm wearing a suit of armor. The blast won't affect me. Probably."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Probably?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"There is a slight chance I could get hurt, but it's…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Not a chance I'm willing to take. Now, let's get out of here before that thing goes off!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan reluctantly followed me out into the corridor, just moments before the room blew up. The blast knocked me off my feet and everything went black./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I'm still not sure whether I passed out from the heat, the fall, or a combination of the two. All I know is that when I woke up, I was back in Ryan's house./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"I got up from the couch I was lying down on and saw Sarah sitting on the chair next to me. "How long have I been out?" I mumbled./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I don't know. An hour, maybe?" she responded before asking, "So, are you a real superhero? Do you have a secret identity? Do you fight bad guys, like all the time?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I wouldn't really…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan said you helped save me from those creeps with the weird outfits. So, um, thanks, I guess."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"You're wel…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"And sorry for kicking you."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"That's okay," I said, expecting to be cut off again. "So, where's your brother?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"He's downstairs. I'll go get him!"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"She ran off and a few seconds later, Ryan walked up to me. "Hey Anastasia."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Hey Ryan."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I see you're up."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yeah, I am."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Did you want to talk to me about something?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yeah, actually. You see, there's this place that I know of…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"You're not asking me out, are you?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"What? Ew, no! I'm asking you to come with me to a friend's house. You can continue your training over there, so that you can learn how to defend yourself and your family from threats like Hydra."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Oh. Well, who is this 'friend' anyways? What makes their house safer to train at than mine?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I know them as The Scientist. They've managed to stay hidden from every government organization in existence since for quite a few years now. I'm certain you'll be safe there."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Well, when you put it like that…"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Great! Do you want to head over there tomorrow morning?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Actually, my parents are supposed to be coming home tonight, so why don't we head over there now?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Wait, you want to spend the night at their house?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Sorry, I just assumed I was supposed to stay over there."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"I mean, you can, and it would probably be better if you did, but I thought you would want to spend nights at your own house. Won't your parents/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"get suspicious?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Nah, I'll just tell them that I decided to go to a summer camp out of state. They'd be more suspicious if I disappeared every day."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Okay. I guess we should head over there then."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan said goodbye to his sister and left a note for his parents. "Where is this house anyways?" he asked as we headed off./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"In the Santa Monica Mountains."/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"The National Recreation Area?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Yeah, why?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"No reason. How are we going to get there?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"On this," I said, pointing to my black dirt bike./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Now it was his turn to be amazed. His eyes widened and he stayed silent for the entire trip./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"We got to the Santa Monica Mountains, where I led Ryan off of one of the trails into a heavily forested area. People never came here because the ground was covered with a plant that looked like poison oak. We continued to walk until the trees began to spread a little further apart. I looked around before finding a branch without bark that had strange carvings on it./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Reaching up, I pulled on the branch, and a rope ladder fell towards the ground. I climbed up, occasionally checking to make sure Ryan was following me./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"When we got to the top, I knocked on a small wooden door three times. The door opened slowly, revealing a girl who was wearing a black sweatshirt and baseball cap./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan, meet The Scientist," I said, motioning towards my old friend./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"Ryan's jaw dropped "Becca?"/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;""span style="font-size: 10pt;"Stark," she grumbled./span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: .14in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-size: 10pt;"This was not going to end well./span/p 


End file.
